Almost a dozen Idaho counties are suing drug makers such as Johnson & Johnson and prescription retailers such as Walmart, saying the companies are responsible for an opioid abuse epidemic. Patrick SisonAP

Almost a dozen Idaho counties are suing drug makers such as Johnson & Johnson and prescription retailers such as Walmart, saying the companies are responsible for an opioid abuse epidemic. Patrick SisonAP

Several Idaho counties are suing drug makers and retailers, accusing them of being responsible for an opioid epidemic that has killed and harmed Idahoans.

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Among the allegations are that the companies knew the opioids they made and sold were dangerous, and that they weren’t only being used for medically necessary pain treatment.

That led to an opioid epidemic, which has grown to include a number of deaths from fentanyl as well as a rise in heroin use, the counties say. Not only does that affect residents, it has forced the counties to spend more money on emergency medical care, public safety and other demands, they said.

“The deceptive marketing, overprescribing, and oversupply of opioids also had a significant detrimental impact on children in Idaho,” the lawsuit says. “Young children have access to opioids, nearly all of which were prescribed or supplied to adults in their household, and children have themselves been injured or killed. Children of parents addicted to opiates, described as the ‘invisible victims of the epidemic’ are flooding the child protection system.”

The counties join a growing list of local and state governments who accuse the makers of Oxycontin, Lortab and other opioids of fraud, false advertising and racketeering, among other offenses. The lawsuits have been consolidated into a case that is before a federal court in Ohio.